jdb's Political News Page
Fact Checks
http://www.factcheck.org/ http://www.politifact.com/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker
http://www.opensecrets.org/ http://www.snopes.com/info/top25uls.asp
Liberal Sources http://www.opednews.com/
http://www.thenation.com/
http://buzzflash.com/
http://www.rawstory.com/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
Conservative Sources http://townhall.com/
http://cnsnews.com/
http://www.newsmax.com/
http://www.rightwingnews.com/
http://www.foxnews.com/
CSPAN Sources http://www.c-span.org/ CSPAN Election 2012: http://www.c-span.org/Campaign2012/
3rd Party Debate: http://www.c-span.org/Campaign2012/Events/Third-Party-Presidential-Debate/10737435220-1/ "The participants included Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson, Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode, and Justice Party candidate Rocky Anderson. The hour and half event was moderated by former CNN anchor Larry King and Christina Tobin, founder and chair of the Free and Equal Elections Foundation."
CVN LINKS
--- Cybertown News --- News --- CVN Recipes --- Politics2012 --- jdb's Fiction ---
Sandy Affects Debate
by jdb_educator
--- October 29 --- http://freeandequal.org/updates/free-and-equal-elections-foundation-changes-presidential-debate-to-november-5-due-to-hurricane/ Viewers can catch the live debate between Jill Stein and Gary Johnson at www.freeandequal.org/live and RT America’s YouTube channel .
Economy Continues Recovery
by jdb_educator
--- October 26 --- The newest numbers are out, but everybody seems to say it is not enough. Why? The numbers prove we are on the road to recovery, the numbers are increasing. I believe I know the answer. The REASON is simple: we have been and are being conditioned to expect instant gratification . There is little to no patience left in the American populace. Now, if I am wrong, we will begin seeing President Obama increasing his lead. I don't expect it. I do expect an Obama win. It will be interesting to see if it happens on election night or whether the world has to wait! NBC's report: http://economywatch.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/26/14719511-economic-growth-picked-up-in-the-third-quarter-new-data-show?lite
Final Presidential Debate
by jdb_educator
--- October 26 --- After watching the first 3rd party debate, we correctly predicted the winners of the on-line vote. In that earlier post we thought Johnson and Stein would be selected. Those winners were announced today, October 26, 2012:
"Free and Equal Elections Foundation today announced that Gary Johnson and Jill Stein will advance to the final Presidential debate on October 30th from 9:00 to 10:30 Eastern Time in Washington DC. The debate location will be at RT America's state of the art studio and facility. RT America will open its studio and offer a live, neutral feed via satellite to interested media. The moderator will be announced on Monday, October 29th." Source: http://freeandequal.org/
Viewing the debate: http://rt.com/on-air/rt-america-air/ Background on leftist rt.com: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RT_(TV_network)
Potential Effect of a Third Party
by jdb_educator
--- October 26 --- The effect of these third party candidates could have an effect on the general election. Here is mainstream media's analysis from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/25/politics/third-party-candidates/index.html We wonder what would happen if the disaffected voters who make up anywhere from 40-50% of the potential electorate were to vote for a third party candidate. I wondered about the 90 million possible voters mentioned in the third party debate so, a little research was in order. In 2008: 132,618,580 votes were tallied according to infoplease ( http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0781453.html They reported the voting age population at 231,229,580 leaving a potential pool of 98,611,000 possible voters. Now, going to Dr. Michael McDonald, the number of the non-voting population should be less. He reported 213,313,508 as the number of potential voters and 38.2% as the possible non-voting possibles. By my math that left 81, 485,760 voters who were available to add their voice in 2008. That's close enough to the possibility of 90 million additional voters for 2012 for me!
New Additions to Site
by jdb_educator
--- October 24 --- This morning we just finished watching the third party debates on CSPAN. We've added The Justice party to our platforms page. And we have added CSPAN, as well as online video of the 3rd party debate, to our news resources above. PLEASE NOTE: There will be a second debate next week in Washington between the top two receiving votes following this debate. The topic next week will be foreign policy.
Five Things We Are Learning From Debates by jdb_educator
--- October 24 --- Through sheer luck I caught the third party debate at close to 4 AM this morning on CSPAN. This post takes in the several debates we have seen at this point. Those include 4 presidential debates and one senatorial debate.
1. We are being "trained" in judging political debates. 2. Candidates are being "trained" in political debating. 3. Election debates are the "newest" reality show. 4. 90 million voters don't vote 5. It's STILL Appearance winning versus Substance
Voting On Third Party Candidates by jdb_educator
--- October 24 --- a 24 hour voting window exists to determine which two of the four third party candidates will debate each other next week in Washington. We "liked" CSPAN but did not locate the link. We went back to the online debate and found the website explained at the end of that debate. Using BING, we located the vote for our readers: http://live.freeandequal.org/stream.html Here are the details: "Once voting is closed at 10:30pm EDT / 7:30 PDT on October 24, votes will be tallied. The candidate in last place will be knocked off, and the second choices for the last candidate's ballots will be applied to the respective second choice totals. The votes are tallied again, and the top two finishers advance to the October 30 debate." We did not vote, but expect Jill Stein and Gary Johnson to receive the most votes. The home page for news, newsletters etc., is here: http://freeandequal.org/
Five Popular Election Myths
by jdb_educator
--- October 18 --- Five seems to be the popular number these days for everything but lists of ten! Lets stroll down the list and see where it takes us. Who we elect to public office affects the laws, policies, projects, taxes, educational, and financial future of each one of us. Ignore that at your peril.
1. Who we elect won't make a difference 2. Electing Obama means war in a socialist America 3. Electing Romney means only the wealthy will gain anything 4. Politics has nothing to do with me 5. Government is/is not a job creator
Early on -around August 23- we saw a judge from Lubbock claiming an Obama second term would mean federal-state confrontation with weapons. "Lubbock County Judge Tom Head's remarks that the county must be prepared to deal with a civil uprising if President Barack Obama is re-elected."(source: http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2012-08-22/county-judge-head-concerned-civil-unrest-if-obama-re-elected The original video was removed, but we provide you with at least some of the transcript with the link. Head's dire vision is not going to happen. America, likewise, will not become a socialist state in four more years. As always there will be political battles, and programs and policies will be labeled socialist, but that will not make it true. Some may be, most likely won't.
Should Romney get elected we will see him have to fight Congress for what he wants. Finally we might see what he truly believes or is willing to do! The most unlikely outcome would be the far right winning a majority in both the Senate and the House, and an implementation of their laws and policies. We are most likely to remain divided with a Republican House and a Democrat dominated Senate.
Politics affects each and every one of us, whether we choose to get involved or pretend it doesn't affect us. And each and every vote -even in States apparently going to one candidate or another- counts. Each vote cast adds to the plurality, and helps determine who gets elected locally, Statewide, and for national office. Finally Government is both a job creator and not a job creator, but the main purpose as both candidates have stated is to create the legal and policy approaches that encourage business to develop and grow. Government hires people for many different reasons and jobs. New government services means new jobs. Government cut backs mean job losses, job opportunities lost and less job hiring, leaving many positions unfilled. Should we get rid of the FBI? The CIA? Regulatory agencies? The Military? The Departments of Education, Energy, or Consumer affairs?
YOU help decide when you vote.
Most Watched Debates in History?
by jdb_educator
--- October 18 --- Viewership estimates often over 70 million suggest the American public is more engaged in this election than people seem to think, write, or say. That is a good thing for any country claiming to be a representative democracy. The fact that these debates remain available online allows many more to catch up. The addition of fact checking bodes well for future electioneering.
Politics: A Culture of Lying?
by jdb_educator
--- October 11 --- Has politics become a culture of lying in the US? In the world? Have lies always been a potential game changer for political campaigns? We began a couple of searches.
http://www.bing.com/search?q=Has+politics+become+a+culture+of+lying&qs=n&form=QBLH&pc=BNHP&pq=has+politics+become+a+culture+of+lying&sc=0-0&sp=-1&sk= Lots of blogging! And others seem to stridently agree that politics has become a culture of lying. Let's look at some history: http://www.bing.com/search?q=history%2C+biggest+political+lies&qs=n&form=QBRE&pq=history%2C+biggest+political+lies&sc=0-22&sp=-1&sk= Here are some fascinating opinionated lists, not historically proven in many instances, but fun reading: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100730155932AA1AZVH Gee, ask a foolish question. I guess we can all see how the old joke got started: How can you tell a politician is lying? Check to see if his lips are moving. Federal Political Scandals: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_political_scandals_in_the_United_States The 10 Biggest lies in World History: http://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/10-biggest-lies-in-history.htm Lies are found throughout life. People lie for gain, self-protection, and using inaccurate information they believe. There are lots more reasons why people lie, do your own search :D!
Simple Truth!!
by jdb_educator
--- October 7 --- Today I have stolen a Facebook post from my son, who is celebrating his birthday! While we share a few political attitudes, we do have many different perspectives.
My youngest son stated "I think it is fitting that in my suggested pages to like, that Romney is one of them. And in said picture for Romney there are 2 letters present on signs, the letters B and S! Because politics are nothing but BS! Does not matter which side of politics."
I laughed, reading it, and posted: "Too much truth there! All the political parties have worked hard, lied harder, and foolishly fought for that hardest earned label: BS. :) LOL SHOW SOME RESPECT, BOY!!"
Voting Trends
by jdb_educator
--- October 7 --- Politics has evolved in the US, perhaps devolved may be more accurate, to a very sad point: A large number of people do not care about politics (for many reasons) and refuse to get involved. Election figures comparing the number of possible registered voters with the number of actual voters bears this out. In many locations like the US that do not require voting the numbers become even worse when comparing the number of votes to adult participation. Like all issues there are many "well, yes, but" arguments. My limited research and experience bias is that people do not vote because they feel voting 1. does not affect them 2. it makes no difference 3. they truly do not care or have any interest in politics for other reasons, or 4. no candidates offer them enough real hope for positive change to stir them to activity. Am I right? Let's see what online research can show.
Voter turnout- comparing several countries with a nice chart showing the ups and downs in historic participation since 1960:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout
An ongoing research "voter turnout" project by Dr. Michael McDonald at George Mason University has a different perspective: http://elections.gmu.edu/voter_turnout.htm His FAQ provides interesting reading!
Here is the kind of data that I had when I was teaching government during the 1970s and 1980s. Dr. McDonald has made me thoughtful as I reconsider!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voter_turnout_in_the_United_States_presidential_elections
Fun, Fun, and More Fun!!
by jdb_educator
--- October 5 --- I have been looking forward to this update! The most fun I've had so far today was running through the headlines on all fact checking and liberal as well as conservative links above our CVN links. That review also caused us to update our snopes URL above
It looks like we did a reasonable job of link gathering and classification. Our first story steals one of the currently popular journalistic formats. It is written from my increasingly biased perspective.
Five Things I learned from Debate 1!!
by jdb_educator
--- October 5 --- I watched the debate with a friendly group of Democrats. We cheered a little, rolled eyes a little, laughed a little, booed a little, and were astonished at what both candidates did, what they missed, and how, too often, neither candidate actually answered Jim Lehrer's excellent questions. I learned:
Clear Differences Between Candidates Were Revealed! This isn't complete in any possible way, but is a start. This version is personal. Philosophical differences are my next point. 1. President Obama is more honest than Governor Romney
2. President Obama presented more factual information than Governor Romney
3. If an issue is popular Governor Romney will steal it. I'm still waiting for him to claim any really popular idea like prohibiting pre-existing conditions as his idea that was stolen by the unimaginative democrats.
4. State rights are more important than people to Governor Romney. President Obama is more concerned with services provided to the people through Federal oversight and regulation. Somehow I doubt that sending monies to Governors to use as they please in bulk grants is really going to provide the services identified. Each Governor has his/her own idea as to what their own State needs, and serving the people intended does not always end up as the use of those monies.
5. Governor Romney will never tell us how he will pay for anything. President Obama explains, he corrects Romney, and even points out some inconsistencies. However this was ignored. Could that be media bias or just focus on appearance?
Identified Philosophical Differences! Republican position stated first
1. State Rights over Federal Rights
2. Big Business vs Big Government
3. Trickle down economics vs trickle up economics
4. Austerity vs Stimulus
5. Trickle up government vs trickle down government
(while this last point, #5, is just a restatement of the first point, it is worth noting as the first recorded instance -to my knowledge- of Republican efforts to reform the use of the word trickle!)
In general, currently and historically, both parties and their major supporters seek to dominate the other party. They both hope to prevent their opponents from any possible victory, keep their own politicians following whatever the partyline "du jour" might be on any issue, and prevent unnecessary collaboration with the enemy unless it benefits the party. This is definitely an adversarial position.
Governor Romney will do anything to get elected! While both candidates, as I expected, exaggerated their claims, It was unbelievable to me that Romney flat lied on National TV before up to 70 million watchers (including estimated internet viewers). I guess my naïveté knows no bounds. So why should I be surprised? My expectations for truth, honesty, and common sense were dashed. Romney lies in ads, in interviews, in speeches, about himself, and callously will say anything he or his advisors believe will help. Here is one well explained issue (there are several):
"(You) said you get a deduction for taking a plant overseas," the Republican said to the Democrat. "Look, I've been in business for 25 years. I have no idea what you're talking about. I maybe need to get a new accountant. But -- but the idea that you get a break for shipping jobs overseas is simply not the case."
" That's just wrong. It IS the case." Liberal Sources: http://www.thenation.com/blog/170368/mitt-romney-debate-win-gives-obama-winning-issue
I find myself in the 25% polled minority who felt Obama won the debate! I feel President Obama provided more substance than Romney, he answered questions more directly and challenged the moderator less while making important points clearly and concisely. Everyone else present disagreed with me. The Public and Media chose appearance over substance I should not be surprised. Our whole society has been doing this for as long as I have been aware of the difference. The best example I can give is the president looking away rather than at Romney in close tight shots used by MSNBC. Romney was shown almost exclusively looking at the President or the public. A later review with the camera pulled back on a CNN replay showed the President making notes.
More Trouble for Romney? 7.8 % Unemployment
by jdb_educator
--- October 5 --- This weekend should provide even more spin from the Republicans over this sign of our economy growing. We wonder how high unemployment would be if GM had been allowed to fail and no stimulus packages ever offered. Perhaps 20-25% unemployment or higher? Starvation? American Riots? A destroyed housing industry? Would some of the wealthy would have made money off of those? We think "yes" to all.
http://economywatch.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/05/14240541-unemployment-rate-falls-to-78-as-economy-creates-114000-jobs?lite&ocid=msnhp
The Labor Department reported Friday that the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 percent in September, a decline of 0.3 percentage point and the lowest since January 2009. The government said the economy created 114,000 jobs, about as expected, and generated 86,000 more jobs in July and August than first estimated"
The 114,000 jobs created represent more than expected and the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8% in September. We wonder how many more will be added to this total when it is reviewed in November.
Debate Parties!
by jdb_educator
--- October 2 --- Tonight the debates begin. We hope to attend a debate party and encourage you to hold a party(Just invite some friends or frenemies over and have a great night of complaining and cheering your candidate! Will these debates have an effect on the election? Time and perhaps several hundred million spent on the last minute negative ads will tell us all on the night of November 6. Check any of our new political links to see what each side has to say. We will try each one. If nothing belse, we are curious about their update frequency.
Perot Speaks
by jdb_educator
--- October 3 --- We captured this URL the other day and thought you might enjoy reading how Ross Perot thinks we -the US- are ripe for a takeover! Personally, I think that clearly lays out the goal and purpose of the Republican Tea Party! That is where our true American danger lies, within THEIR lies!). http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/america-could-taken-over-warns-ross-perot-152428497.html
Party Platform Page Ready
by jdb_educator
--- October 3 --- The links are verified and the page is prepared! You can read/download, and view the stated beliefs of several political groups, including the major parties: Go to Political_platforms.html .
That Redistribution of Wealth?
by jdb_educator
--- September 22 --- We have been chuckling for ages over the redistribution claims. Part of the reason is our link below. where it states "redistribution of wealth has been a fundamental concept in the U.S. tax system for 100 years."
My own personal reason is that redistribution of wealth just means moving the money around. Politically it has almost always meant from the wealthy to the poor. Yet ... Tax cuts for the rich and all those pro business policies often mean moving money from everyone else to the rich. Seems to me that also counts as redistribution of wealth, don't you think?
What is most important to my mind, is strengthening the middle class in America. It is keeping open that pathway to success and the American Dream for the so called "have nots" while providing the path for middle class success to reach the status of "haves" that has kept tyranny and revolution at bay. Without a strong middle class we could become a dictatorship like Russia or a third world country. The 16 th Amendment to the constitution was not the beginning of Federal income taxation, but passage did stop much of the constant wrangling and tax protestation efforts even though they still continue today.
Our wiki link states: "In order to help pay for its war effort in the American Civil War, Congress imposed its first personal income tax in 1861.[17] It was part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800).[18] This tax was repealed and replaced by another income tax in 1862.[19]"
http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2012/sep/21/redistribution-ominous-old-hat/ More on taxation than you want to see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_tax_in_the_United_States
47%? 100%?
by jdb_educator
--- September 21 ---`Oh come on! GIVE US A BREAK. It is all hog wash. The only truth, in this latest round of political nonsense, is that the President IS the elected President of all the people. No president has ever had 100% of the people on his side and never will. This silly posturing over 47% of America being victims is wrong on both sides! We are, my fellow Americans, ALL 100% of us , either participating victims or non-participating victims of the political process. Both political parties seek to control that process and that is what every election is about and has been about since the first elections. That is the basis of politics: Our ideas vs your ideas. Versus! Sides, teams, parties, conflicting ideas and policies, are all part of a contested, competitive system. That is the design in every country in the world claiming free elections. We are not disparaging those candidates who have visions, hopes, and dreams of truly making positive change for America. We celebrate those candidates whether we agree or disagree with their vision for our country. We are disparaging the constant lying of political campaigning. WE DESERVE BETTER. We deserve elected officials that work together to improve America, not play politics with its future.
Political Solutions?
by jdb_educator
--- September 21 --- I'm so glad you asked! (no one asked) There are a few ideas out there worth pondering. Warren Buffet is one, and we will attempt to find a few others over the next few weeks.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/buffett.asp As far as the rest, we have not verified Buffet's words, but these ideas have been repeated a lot. And they are fun to ponder. http://sdward.com/warren-buffets-congressional-reform-act-of-2012/ The simple solution -my own- which will never happen is ... for everyone to get involved and change how their party does their business. The minimal participation is obviously to get `100% registered and 100% VOTE. Certainly YOU should vote for the ideas that reflect your thinking, and the people running for office you think will do a good job. THAT is the reason for elections in any representative form of government.
Coming to Politics 2012!
by jdb_educator
--- September 19 --- Oh the fun I can have! Here are some of the efforts I'm going to see if I can do before election time: Comparing ads, a primer on basic politics, Party Platforms, history on political slogans, and more ... or less.
Fact Checkers!
by jdb_educator
--- September 11 --- Fact checkers serve an excellent role in providing outside verification of details used in stories. They have moved into a higher level of prominence by catching and reporting the outright lies, misuse, and incorrect interpretations used in political campaigns. Will they make a difference in voter perceptions or political behavior? Only time and several elections will tell us that. Here at CVN we only have the Editor and our readers as fact checkers. Now we have several sites to help our effort. We have used several of the sites listed in our next two stories:
Market Place (PBS): http://www.marketplace.org/topics/elections/list-fact-checking-websites http://www.vikitech.com/454/get-your-facts-right-6-fact-checking-websites-that-help-you-know-the-truth
Reality Check!
by jdb_educator
--- September 11 --- Please take the time to read this thoughtful perception of news today. There is excellent journalism still out there and it often goes beyond opinions and fact checking. The following excerpt is from the article link below it:
"Good journalism isn't as easy as deciding that a particular claim is a matter of fact, and giving the answer, because some claims can be technically true but misleading, while other statements are technically false, but not worth nitpicking. As Kevin Drum explained in an excellent item on this subject, journalists are often better off focusing on the degree to which something misleads (for the goal is informing readers, not signaling which pols they should denounce as liars**)."
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/better-than-fact-checking-an-ohio-reporter-speaks-truth-to-power/261995/
No September Budget Fight?!
by jdb_educator
--- September 14 --- "By a 329-to-91 vote, the Republican-led House passed the so-called continuing resolution agreed to by party leaders earlier this summer to avoid a budget showdown during the fall election campaign." http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/13/politics/house-spending-vote/index.html?hpt=hp_t3 --- September 13 --- Congress backs off of ideology in the hopes of crafting a new political reality after elections. Even Paul Ryan is expected to vote for this six month budget extension package. Read the interesting details: http://news.yahoo.com/house-pass-6-month-spending-bill-072737706.html
Political Ad Spending
by jdb_educator
--- September 12 --- Have you been wondering how much money is going into those political advertisements? USA Today reports 575 Million dollars spent so far just in the 12 "swing" States in this election. http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012/09/11/swing-state-ads-bill-575m----so-far/57751750/1 Just out of curiosity, we tried a Bing Search for Political ads for this presidential election. See what we got: http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Presidential+Campaign+2012+ads&qs=n&form=VBREQY&pq=presidential+campaign+2012+ads&sc=1-30&sp=-1&sk=
How Did Obama Get Rich?
by jdb_educator
--- September 12 --- An eye opening story, exceeding only by where his Nobel Prize money went (PAGE 2). Our second link will let you explore other candidates:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/how-barack-obama-made-his-fortune.html?page=1 Explore your candidate: http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/candlook.php Presidential Campaigns? Official Campaign Funds
by jdb_educator
--- September 12 --- Now you can see why PAC Money is soooo important, and it serves as the reason the Republicans will likely out spend the Democrats:
http://www.opensecrets.org/pres12/index.php
Personal Stories! Watching the American Dream Poof
by jdb_educator
--- September 10 --- Please remember that this happened because big business on Wall Street and the banking industry did not want too much regulation, and Republican administrations helped to provide that environment. Big business got their big profits by taking our money, because the rest of us wanted to get in on the perceived economic boom. The economy continues to recover too slowly for most of us still, but it is coming back
http://economywatch.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/31/13590963-economys-long-slump-pushing-many-down-the-ladder?lite
It Is Still The Economy!
by jdb_educator
--- September 8 --- This story shows the statistics on employment in the electoral toss-up States. The October job numbers may affect the election, but the perceptions of voters will determine the election in these states at the time of voting, we believe.
http://news.yahoo.com/glance-economy-contested-states-222522094--election.html
Right to Privacy!
by jdb_educator
--- September 8 --- This will be a fun story to watch develop. The fun is watching the Republican campaign squirm over this 1 million dollar blackmail attempt. It would be the same, if these were any major candidates returns. It is just pure fun to have political parties worry! At the same time, this is also a criminal activity that should result in jail time for the perpetrators. There is a right to privacy and There is no absolute necessity or right for the public to have access to Romney's tax returns. http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/bestoftv/2012/09/07/tsr-todd-romneys-tax-returns.cnn
President Score cards!
by jdb_educator
--- September 7 --- We looked for other presidential scorecards without success. It would really be nice to compare past presidents, but I guess that will be up to historians. Did you know President Obama made 508 promises, according to this report? As he finishes his first term, he has completed 32%... Ah they've updated the report to 37%! Interesting that. In any less challenged Presidency any one of the following achievements would be enough to guarantee re-election and be shining examples of accomplishment : passing real Health care reform, extending Medicaid for 8 years, closing the prescription "donut hole" for seniors, bailing out GM and the auto industry, ending bin laden's terrorist career, ending much of the discrimination against equal pay for women (Lily Ledbetter act), politically moving gays closer to acceptable human status rather than the popular vile perverts seen by the far right who were bashed and killed on righteous whim.
And there are so many more achievements listed. They aren't even listing the 30 straight months of job growth. (Here is a job chart from January 2010: http://articles.businessinsider.com/2012-01-23/politics/30485008_1_unemployment-rate-obama-election-day ) . Obama's First Term Report card: http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/06/politics/obama-report-card/index.html
Editorial Cartoons!
by jdb_educator
--- updated--- Editorial cartoons can promote laughter and thought, whether you agree or disagree. These come from USA Today:
http://mediagallery.usatoday.com/Editorial-Cartoons/G373
Political Phone Calling by jdb_educator
--- September 6 --- Now I'll tell you about my experiences talking to voters as a campaign volunteer. Personal stories are often much more interesting.
Volunteers are given scripts, just like all the calls we get from debt collectors, phone sales, etc. Our scripts are usually pretty simple, trying to identify the level of support for candidates, those who may need to register and finding more volunteers to help. I often go off script to develop a conversation, have fun, and find out what our American voters think.
I have been phone calling since early June. I've also been computerizing phone results. In talking to hundreds of voters and non voters I have encountered total support, modest support, maybes, and total rejection: "Do not call here again", "I'm a Republican" followed by a hang up. I have also found volunteers who come and help and those I have yet to see. I have invited people down to our local Democratic headquarters who felt isolated and alone, just to meet friendly faces and like minded politics.
I have also enjoyed engaging political conversations, shared laughter, and outrageous reasons for rejecting candidates. A lady in her 80s told me she rejects Obama because he appears without suit or tie and therefore does not look Presidential. Another call rejected him because of his middle name. Few know that Romney's first name is Willard. There are also single issue voters: Pro-life, anti-gay; haters (any one who does not support their narrow beliefs) and those who think the economy should already be fixed. Then there are those who believe the lies of the campaign ads.
There are also a surprising number of wrong or disconnected numbers, and mismatched phones and addresses. I talked with one Republican in St. Louis who moved there six years ago(his address is listed on the call sheet as local in Hobbs, NM) He said "My wife is the Democrat." (she was unavailable) He told me he is leaning democrat this year. I noted on the call sheet that we should send the information to St. Louis. I got his zip code. I've also talked to a few former democrats who are now Republicans.
I've talked with illegal aliens who cannot register, those potential voters who did not know if they were or could register (a call to the county offices where you reside, should get you those answers), relatives of deceased voters, independent voters and those who will not vote.
All in all it is a fascinating experience and I will continue to make those calls.
Presidential Bios from Wikipedia:
Barack Hussein Obama II: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama Willard Mitt Romney: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_romney
Yesterday I wrote: I'll also (grinz) take on those who call themselves "fact checkers". I've got a fact or two to pick with them! I have much more research to do before I can take on the "fact checkers" and show you what I need to show you!
Convention Realities by jdb_educator
--- September 6 --- Televised National Conventions are all about control. If you have ever been to a convention, you know and understand what I am saying and what that means. If not let me attempt to explain. When a National Convention is televised, it has carefully scripted actions (votes, reports, presentations, speeches) that need to happen on a time line without dissent or disruption. When any disruption happens on National television, it has to be stopped quickly simply because it becomes a focus for scrutiny and breaking news for the day, making the convention look bad.
The Democratic National Convention had such a moment yesterday. This video clip from CNN will show the disruption over the democratic platform and how it was handled: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/05/just-in-democrats-to-update-platform-with-jerusalem-reference/
Essentially the video shows an effort to amend the platform once the President's team closely looked at it. Both deletions were included in the 2008 platform, but somehow deleted from this year's product.("a reference to Jerusalem being the capital of Israel, as well as the insertion of the word 'God,' neither of which was included in their platform this year but was in previous platforms. ")
A voice vote, expected to be unanimous, wasn't. The Convention Chairman (Antonio Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles) called for the voice vote - needing a 2/3 majority - to pass the amending resolution. I don't believe he could believe what happened. He ended up calling for that voice vote three times and then declaring that the resolution had passed. What that revealed is the simple truth that Democrats refuse to be lock stepped into conformity. The action Villaraigosa took was in conformity to the rules and properly done-in my view. While the ruling of the chair could have been challenged, somehow any challenge was either ignored, not allowed, or there was no such effort. Knowing Conventions and democrats as I do, I suspect ignored. I will point out that I neither heard, nor read, of any such controversy during the tightly controlled Republican convention.
Clinton's Speech by jdb_educator
--- September 6 --- Here is former President Bill Clinton's 48 minute speech:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/06/politics/democratic-convention-wrap/index.html Paralympics by jdb_educator
--- September 5 --- In the US, news sites have been pretty much ignoring the paralympics 2012 in London. We are as guilty, giving the games only a passing thought, now and then. By going to BBC we did find a section devoted to the games. That is our leading link. For additional stories, we sought out site searches from US news providers and provide two of those : BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/disability-sport/ USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/search/results?q=paralympics http://www.cnn.com/search/?query=Paralympics&sortBy=relevance
Politics by jdb_educator
--- September 5 --- Last night I made phone calls to voters, talked to a local editor of a Spanish newspaper in person, and watched the Democratic National Convention on a live feed from:
http://www.barackobama.com/ . For those few who have computer access, like me, but no television service you can follow the convention here. The undisclosed trick is to click on the Obama/Biden banner at the top of the donate page to go to the "home page". Then you can register and review features. To completely escape the site, either open a new page or close your browser (I was using IE).
The convention was interesting, although the live feed seemed to take a long time before it adjusted to my computer. The requests for donations are constant which really isn't a surprise. The speeches were. The Democratic party finally showed it is listening to all the critics who have said they need clear explanations of policies. The convention organizers focused on putting real faces into the stories from around the US using some of the real people who have benefited from the changes pushed through by democrats. Each of those stories has a powerful impact and a human reality that cannot be ignored. (but, lol, they will be ignored and/or attacked by critics after the convention.) Tomorrow, I'll tell you about my experiences talking to voters as a campaign volunteer. Personal stories are often much more interesting. I'll also (grinz) take on those who call themselves "fact checkers". I've got a fact or two to pick with them! So stay tuned! Democratic National Convention by jdb_educator
--- September 4 --- The convention officially starts today.
--- September 3 --- What will come out of the Democratic National Convention? The news will have daily articles and our local Lea County Democrats will have two of our members attending as elected delegates. Here are some news sources for any who care to follow:
Official Convention site: http://www.demconvention.com/
USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2012-democratic-national-convention/index
CNN: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2012/
Republican National Convention by jdb_educator
--- September 3 --- What came out of the Republican National Convention? Here are a few sources and that most discussed speech by Clint Eastwood. I finally got to watch it. If you haven't seen it, take a look (other RNC speeches follow Clint's speech.):
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2012/08/31/rnc-eastwood-entire-speech.cnn
RNC (Official Convention site): http://www.gopconvention2012.com/